Cloud-based Realtime 3D SLAM for SMEs

Today, Upper Austria’s manufacturing industry strongly relies on innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Considering order processing or even development of new products, these companies have in most cases a significantly shorter time to market than large manufacturing companies. Following the German initiative "Industrie 4.0", industrial processes are becoming more and more interconnected digitally. This means that also SMEs have to cope with the challenge of tracing their order and production processes digitally.
Large companies often implement standardized and comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning and Manufacturing Execution Systems. From an economic and technical point of view, these kinds of systems are in most cases not suitable for typical SMEs in Upper Austria. Therefore, SMEs have a strong demand for innovative and affordable solutions, which locally implement services similar to those found in large companies. Economic task management and visualisation of material flows have been identified as key tasks in such systems.
The main goal of project CELL4KMU was to research a new method for realtime capturing and monitoring of material flows in SMEs. An enabling open software and hardware platform was developed. Using innovative mapping and driving concepts from autonomous robots, a system was developed which supports the (semi-) automatic 3D mapping of a company’s production facilities and using appropriate sensor fusion to track materials in realtime. This map and all other relevant data can be stored in a cloud-based software system connected to other internal and external software. Together with an existing SME-ERP system, materials may be tracked with regards to their status and realtime position.
This technology first facilitates the use of a common database for economic and manufacturing process related data especially for SMEs. On this basis, future transport and logistic solutions, such as automated guided vehicles or indoor navigation for workers, will come true. A further application may be big data analysis, such as condition monitoring.

Research Topics
3D Part Tracking, Visualisation, Digital Transformation

Timeframe
10/2017 - 04/2019

Project Management
FH-Prof. DI (FH) Dr. techn. Roman Froschauer

Website
https://projekte.ffg.at/

Funding
The project CELL4KMU is funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG in "Bundesländerkooperationen TP, Innovatives Oberösterreich 2020, OÖ AS 2017 Digitalisierung".

Partners
FH OÖ Forschungs & Entwicklungs GmbH (Coordination)
HOST Software Entwicklung & Consulting GmbH
S & S Steinhuber GmbH